The Hadži-Prodan's Cave ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Хаџи-Проданова пећина, Hadži-Prodanova pećina) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

of the Paleolithic period and a national

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...

, located in the village Raščići around from

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in western central

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

. The rather narrow and high entrance with at an altitude of above sea level sits about above the Rašćanska river valley bed and is oriented towards the south. The long cave was formed during the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

in "thick-bedded to massive" Senonian

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Prehistoric pottery shards and

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

l fossils had already been collected by Zoran Vučićević from

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. Animal fossils especially

Cave bear The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum. Both the word "cave" and the scientific name ' ...

(''Ursus spelaeus'') and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

artifact discoveries during an unrelated areal survey were reportedly made at the cave entrance and in the main cavern. The site is named in honor of

Hadži-Prodan Prodan Gligorijević, known simply as Hadži-Prodan ( sr-cyr, Хаџи-Продан Глигоријевић; 1760 – 1825) was a Serbian ''voivode'' (military commander) in the First Serbian Uprising of the Serbian Revolution, then the Gree ...

, a 19th century Serbian revolutionary.

Excavations

Hadži Prodanova has been the subject of research and study in speleological and archaeological literature for over a century. It received renewed attention after a 2003 to 2004 joint excavation campaign of the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-ba ...

, the

National Museum of Serbia The National Museum of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the largest and oldest museum in Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the central zone of Belgrade on a square plot between the Republic Square, formerly Theatre Square, and three streets: Čika Ljubina ...

and the Institute for Protection of Cultural Heritage in

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-cyr, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar River, Ibar, in the geographical region of � ...

. It was decided to thoroughly review and document the site as material and objects of

Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος '' lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone to ...

origin and

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

ized bones of

fauna were unearthed during previous survey excavations. Probes had been taken to identify the foundations and map the original position of an early 20th century Church (''St. Archangel Michael'') that once stood right in front of the cave's entrance in order to accurately assess the feasibility of its reconstruction. In 2003 a deep trench of was dug in the entrance, the main cavern and the internal part of the cave plateau. Only fifteen

artifacts were discovered inside the cave. Most discoveries originate from the frontal plateau. The aim of the excavation was to evaluate the

stratigraphic Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostra ...

position of the findings. Hadži Prodanova has yielded sizable

l deposits of various large and small vertebrates. Five sediment layers were investigated and the remains of cave bears, wolves, ibex, various rodents and birds unearthed. In total, 13 species of rodents have been found, which are still extant. Composition and frequency helped to better determine the ecological characteristics of the stratigraphic segments.

Analysis

In a 2010 preliminary taphonomic analysis it was concluded, that "human occupation was very brief, maybe only a few hours, which is somewhat more common in the Middle Paleolithic than in the Epigravettian". However, Hadži Prodanova and the nearby ''Šalitrena cave'' are so far the only cave sites in the Central Balkan mountains, that have produced evidence for human presence in a Gravettian and/or Epigravettian cultural context. Dušan Mihailović argues in "Palaeolithic and Mesolithic research in the Central Balkans" that Gravettian communities populated South-eastern Europe around 26,000 years ago - the beginning of the last glacial maximum, avoided mountainous habitats and preferably retreated to shelters near the coast and the southern Balkans.

Stratigraphy

The interior sediments are around high and constitute a

sequence of five cultural layers. * 1.

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

era top layer of grey

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

mixed with fragmented rocks, which contained

and more recent artifacts. * 2. Late

Upper Palaeolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

strata of brown and yellowish clay mixed with fine debris, that held flakes and chipped

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

artifacts attributed to the

Epigravettian The Epigravettian (Greek: ''epi'' "above, on top of", and Gravettian) was one of the last archaeological industries and cultures of the European Upper Paleolithic. It emerged after the Last Glacial Maximum around ~21,000 cal. BP or 19,050 BC, ...

culture, implements with abruptly retouched edges point to a deposition of

Gravettian The Gravettian was an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified, and had mostly disappeared by ...

or Epigravettian cultural settlement. * 3. Archaeologically sterile layer of brown clay with coarse detritus, large rocks and no artifacts. * 4.

Middle Palaeolithic The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Pale ...

strata of light brown clay with fine detritus and variously sized deposits of fine gravel, that contained artifacts. The ecological characteristics of layer 4 and 5 are similar. * 5.

strata of dark brown clay with coarse detritus and large rocks, that yielded two scraper tools and several artifacts made of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

. This layer was further divided into four horizons (a, b, c and d). * The cave entrance's sediment structure extends out onto the relatively flat exterior area of some , where excavations to a depth of has not yet reached the bedrock. Hadzi Prodanova has been put under national protection in 1974 and its protection status was reviewed and approved in 2005.

References

External links

BULLETIN OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH Annual Report for 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haji Prodan's cave Caves of Serbia Limestone caves Neanderthal sites Archaeological sites in Serbia Late Cretaceous Europe Paleontology in Serbia